"I'll show you to your room, if you would like."
There are a great many things I would like, but- She looked up at him, narrowing her eyes. "I have a room?"
He waved his arms around, raising his eyebrows. "Did you want to stay in here?" When she shook her head, he put his arms back down and turned around. "Then I suggest that you follow me—before I change my mind." He walked out the door without waiting for a reply, not even checking to see if she had gotten up to follow.
Hesitantly, Bella stood, unsure of whether or not she should actually follow. Why should she trust a demon? Maybe he was really going to lead her to a place far worse than this awful tower.
Giving the outdoors one last look, and tears welling up in her eyes, Bella decided that she didn't have much of a choice, or even a care, and walked out of the cell after the demon. He stood at the top of the stairs she hadn't travelled on yet, waiting for her almost patiently, which wasn't something she had expected. She had thought he would have gone ahead with no cares of whether or not she got lost.
But there he was.
He held a lamp, since it was still quite dark inside, and his eyes shined brightly under the light, seeming to look her over before he turned around and led the way down the stairs. There was no sign of the other man who had been there before, or of anyone else for that matter. The castle was eerily silent.
At the bottom of the stairs were two doors, one leading left, and the other right. The demon chose the one to the right, glancing over his shoulder to be sure that Bella was following, as if confident that she might choose to race through the other one.
These stairs, Bella had realized, were shorter than the other, which let her know that they weren't under the first floor where the other stairs would have led. Instead, they entered a long corridor with unlit candles on the walls beside pictures and the sort, and several closed doors. Statues lurked in the shadows, all either sneering at her in disgust, gaping in horror, or giving her forlorn expressions of pity and sorrow.
"This is the West Wing," the demon told Bella without stopping, much less looking at her. "The other door leads to the East. I trust I make it very clear when I say that you're not to wander through there." When she didn't answer, he slowed and looked down at her, solid eyes making her shiver. "Am I clear?"
Unable to help it, she gritted her teeth, angry as much as scared, and fisted her hands. "Very."
He ignored whatever expression it was that she was giving him, and stared straight ahead. "Good."
They passed a wide set of stairs that led to the floor just below, and to a door that was on the wall opposite of it and off to the side. The demon, instead of pulling out keys to unlock the door as Bella expected, opened it and stepped to the side, staring down at her.
"This is your room," he told her, much as if he thought she would start arguing. "Thais will be sent with tea."
Bella, not quite sure of what else to say or do, just stared up at him before obediently stepping into the room. It was quite dark, but almost immediately flames sputtered to life on the candles sitting on the wall, as if the room had just awoken.
Inside were two massive glass doors that led to a balcony, which gave a view of the forest over the wall. A bed sat at one wall, coated in velvet, a canopy hanging over it. Beside it was a large wardrobe, much larger than any one that Bella had ever seen, shaped from some sort of dark oak. There was also a table, a fireplace, some comfortable chairs, and a rug. High above was a glass chandelier, much like the one in the dining room, only this one had a reddish hue, one that made Bella wonder if it was ruby instead.
But she didn't care about all that. She just wanted her father.
"I'll have Desiree ready a bath for you." When Bella looked at the demon with wide eyes, he sighed. "Unless you wish to sleep that way."
Bella was sure she wouldn't be sleeping at all, but she nodded anyways, not really caring. Perhaps it was better not to argue. That was what the logical side of her was saying. But there was another side, one that wasn't quite agreeing, a voice that was small and in the corner of her mind, just out of reach, though it seemed to be getting louder.
She wondered, right then, if her father, who had been locked in a tower, had been shown at least the same supposed courtesy she seemed to be receiving.
The demon left the room, closing the door after him. From what Bella could tell, he hadn't even locked the door. In fact, there was a lock on the inside, one that she immediately went to and twisted, bolting the door in place. It was large and sturdy, and it made her feel safe doing it. Well, safer.
Figuring she ought to look for a way out, since she was alone now, Bella went out onto the balcony. But it turned out that she was quite a ways up. A straight drop to the solid ground below revealed itself to her, something Bella was sure would break her in one way or another. And, aside from the door and the balcony, there was no other way out.
She sensed that she wasn't alone. There was another presence in the room with her. The only problem was, she couldn't decide if it was threatening or not, and she couldn't see anything other than the furniture. When she checked the wardrobe, all she found were clothes, jewelry, and a mirror on the backside of one of the doors. Aside from all that—nothing.
There was a knock at the door. Though gentle, it still made Bella flinch and jump back from the wardrobe, quickly closing it as if she thought she had just committed a crime, snooping around—even if it was her room. When she stared at the door, frozen, there was another knock, just as calm as the first one.
Hesitantly, she walked over to it. Was it the demon? If so, she found it quite odd that a demon like him would be knocking so lightly. If it was him, Bella didn't want to let him in. But if it was someone, or something, else then Bella was still uncertain of whether she wanted them to come in or not. Anything that worked for the demon couldn't be all that good. There was Eriq, but even he couldn't be trusted, especially since he was one of the Fae.
But I trusted those girls, Bella reminded herself, wishing that they were there right then to get her out of the mess. Of course, they wouldn't be. They were safe and sound where they belonged, and without a care in the world of her safety even if some of them had hopes that she would survive. Bella didn't understand why they didn't try helping her, aside from the fact that she was human and they barely knew her. If they wanted her to survive, why didn't they just help her?
And why did they want her to survive?
"Are you just gonna stand there and stare at the door?" a woman's sing-song voice asked from the other side. "Or are you going to let me in? Either way, I have all the time in the world."
Bella didn't doubt that one bit, since she was more than less likely a faerie, so she decided to stop being so stubborn, and she unlocked the door, stepping back as she opened it. She saw nothing but darkness, since all the windows in the hall seemed to be covered, but the light from her room sank into the hall, offering a dim sight of the woman in it, who gladly stepped forth.
Per usual, this woman had long, pointed ears. Her eyes were dark, looking quite normal aside from the purple hue, and they were beautifully shaped. Her hair was short and white, cut in a style Bella had never seen before, and she found this quite strange since boys were normally the only ones who braved shorter hair. She looked old as much as she did young, as if she held no age, though something about her said that she was very much mature. In fact, she nearly looked human, if it weren't for some of her strange qualities.
In her hands was a tray, with a tea kettle, cup, and two bowls, one with sugar and the other with cream. And she set this on a nearby table as she poured the kettle's contents into the small cup, humming some sort of lovely tune that Bella's ears forgot the instant she heard it.
"Sugar" the faerie asked without looking over at her, hands hesitating over the bowl, "or cream? Perhaps both?" When Bella didn't answer, she glanced over at her. "I'm going to need an answer, if you want to drink it before it gets too cool."
"S-sorry," Bella
said, clearing her throat. It was strange that the most important topic at the moment was how she wanted her tea. Though, the demon had told her that tea would be sent to her. But he also said something else would be sent up, which made her wonder... "What's thais?" That was how he had pronounced it, wasn't it? She couldn't remember all too much, since it was something she had never heard of.
The faerie laughed, something that sounded awfully joyful to Bella, and shook her head before fully turning to smile at the girl. "Thais is my name."
Embarrassed, Bella ducked her head, blushing. "O-oh. I'm sorry."
"That's alright," Thais said, laughing again, and she turned back to the tea. "Now, back to what I was saying...sugar or cream?"
Not really caring, Bella said, "Both."
She smiled. "Good choice." And she went on to preparing it.
For a faerie, Thais seemed different. Like Eriq, she seemed rather sweet, and appeared to like humans. Which was strange, because Bella had been raised with stories about how cruel and harsh the Fae were. But the Fae were much different than the humans believed them to be.
It was true, that most of the Fae despised humans. They were, after all, children of nature, and humans only destroyed that just like they destroyed everything they didn't entirely understand or care for. But there were some that were fascinated with humans and wished them to survive in the world, and so didn't take pleasure in ruining their lives like the other Fae did. Though there were many, these were few compared to the rest of the Fae that thought differently.
"Excuse me for asking," Bella said when she was handed her tea, which was still pretty hot, and she blew at it while the faerie turned to leave the room, "but why are you doing this?"
"I don't believe I understand," Thais said, sniffing as she smiled. There was something in her eyes, however, that said differently, and the girl knew that the Fae knew exactly what it was that she meant.
"I'm a prisoner here, aren't I?" Bella demanded, setting her tea down. She gestured at her surroundings. "But you aren't treating me like one. Shouldn't I be locked in a tower somewhere, like-" She cut off, unable to finish. Just the thought of her father made her choke on her words, and she ducked her head when she felt tears welling up again.
"Would you like to be locked up in a tower?" Thais asked, reminding Bella very much of the demon, which only angered her.
"Of course not," she said, not wishing to argue with the faerie, which made her all the more angry. She shouldn't be trying to be nice to her; she should be arguing, and she should be furious. But it was like that part of her was caged, and she knew that was only the will of the Fae speaking, since their presence weakened humans. "But I don't understand. I should be dead now, or in the place my father was." She swallowed the lump that tried to build up in her throat. "I'm sure you treated him horribly, but you're treating me like I'm some-some...guest!"
Thais smiled grimly. "You should think of yourself that way, child. You're lucky we don't do to you what we do to others. You're different."
"But, how?" she persisted, throwing her hands into the air. "I'm human, aren't I? I'm exactly the same! What makes me so different? Why are you all acting so strange?" Not that she would really know how a faerie was supposed to act.
"I don't believe you know us well enough to judge if we are acting differently," Thais replied calmly, very much as if she could read the young girl's mind. "And you should just accept the fact that we're treating you civilly." She strode over to the hall, stopping to say, "Desiree will be ready with your bath soon enough." With that, she shut the door, leaving behind a fuming and confused girl to stare blankly after her.
Not knowing what else to do, Bella sat on the bed, trying to come up answers for her own questions, but nothing came to mind. Did they do this often, treating some random human like they were a guest when, in all reality, they were really a prisoner? What would happen if she were to just up and stroll right out of the castle? Would they kill her if she tried to escape?
Suddenly the door opened, causing Bella to leap to her feet and stare with wide eyes, half expecting it to be the demon changing his mind and deciding it was in his best interest to kill her after all. But, there was no one. Or, rather, there was someone; she just couldn't see them.
"I've got a bath prepared for you," a voice called from the hall, although a face didn't appear with it.
When Bella reluctantly stepped out of her room, she still couldn't see anyone, but there were enough shadows to hide in. A flicker of light appeared on the ground, bringing a candle to life.
"I suppose you would like to see where you're walking."
Bella picked the candle up, waving it around, but she still couldn't see anyone. "Where are you?" She was positive it was a woman, or a young girl. From the sounds of her voice, she was possibly Bella's age. Or, rather, looked to be, since she was most likely of the Fae.
"Where I want to be," she replied with a giggle. "No use waving that thing around. You're not going to find me."
She was possibly right, since her voice seemed to be coming from everywhere, so Bella decided not to look so ridiculous and stopped. "Where am I supposed to go?" she asked.
"Just to the room on the right. The door's quite close, so keep a look out."
Sure enough, there was a door just a couple yards from Bella's room, and in it was a room with nothing but a tub in the center of it, along with dim-lit candles all over the floor.
"The water's still hot, so I suggest you take your time getting undressed," the voice said as Bella walked into the room. "Take all the time you need." Then the door shut behind Bella before she could catch a glimpse of the faerie.
Just as she had been promised, the water was a little more than scalding, so Bella did as suggested and slowly undressed, peeling everything off like she had all the time in the world. She still had the bag of money—of which was extremely useless now—but she had left the knife somewhere in the tower when she wasn't thinking very much of it. Aside from that, she wore only her gown and cloak, both of which were completely filthy and ruined from getting caught on roots and branches, and having been stepped on and rolled on the ground. It was a shame, since it was her mother's gown, though the cloak didn't matter to her all that much, especially when compared to the gown.
Bella stepped into the bath when she was finished, though the water was still very hot. But she ignored the small amount of pain it gave her, welcoming it instead, and sat there in the steam, her skin turning red from the heat.
Hardly a minute had passed before Bella took in—really took in—everything that had happened. And before she really knew what was happening, she was curled up in a ball in the center of the tub, sobbing loudly, listening to her cries echo in the room. She was sure that, should anyone pass, she would be heard, but she didn't care. All of it was too silly to matter when compared with all that she had been through, and all she was sure she would keep going through.
It was official. She was stuck here for the rest of her life, however long that would be. If rumors proved to be true, she might even start to become immortal, and then she would be stuck in that castle for all of eternity.
These thoughts only made her sob harder.
No one disturbed Bella as she washed. During her bath, she had found a series of cuts all over her body that stung when she cleaned them, though none so bad as the one on her hand, which was still lightly bleeding.
She even found that, while she had been distracted with her thoughts, someone had left a robe next to the door. It was silky and smooth, and slightly uncomfortable, but she put it on anyways, deciding that it would be in her best interest to wear something clean. She didn't know what to do with her clothes, so she brought them back to the room with her.
All the candles in her room were out now, but the window brought in light, letting her know that it was now morning. But, tired as she was, she tossed her things on the floor, ignored her cold tea, and climbed into bed, sinking into the light blankets.
As everyt
hing was becoming blurry, and her eyelids were sliding shut, Bella could've sworn she saw someone come out of her closet, grab her stuff, and walk right back in. But her mind told her that she was half asleep, and so she convinced herself she was dreaming.
And, so, her mind fell into a never ending fog of sleep.
* * *
When Bella came to, it was dark outside. She was hoping everything had all been a bad dream, but, sure enough, she was still in the same room. At first she thought she had hardly gotten any sleep at all, but then remembered that she had been up all night and only managed to fall asleep when morning came. And, so, she had slept through a whole day, and night had just fallen.
Hunger was the first thing she felt; the first thing after the sorrow, of course. She hadn't eaten in a day, after all, so her stomach was basically howling at her. When she sat up, dizziness and nausea rolled through her, making her groan in protest. Instantly all she wanted to do was curl into a ball and fall back asleep, since dream was where she felt much better.
All the little cuts on her body were beginning to close already, and heal, so they itched slightly, but she managed to resist herself from scratching them. Even the cut on her hand was starting to scab over, though Bella had no doubts that it would become a scar soon enough.
She half expected someone to come in and take her somewhere, like she expected them to know what to do with her every step of the way. Of course, no one came, because they didn't know she was up yet. Save for one, who was hiding at the moment, though Bella simply regarded that one as the presence that she couldn't find.
About five minutes passed before Bella stood up and walked to the door, peeking out into the hall to see if anyone was waiting for her. It was dark, so she couldn't see a thing if she wanted to. She grabbed the candle she had used early that morning and looked for something to light it, but it seemed to light itself, the little thing bursting to life as if it had just awakened, startling Bella and making her cringe and almost drop it. When she caught a hold of herself, and accepted that things were much different in that castle than she had grown to believe, she stepped out into the hall.
Beauty's Beast- The Light Page 9
